Awakening
by Poo7667676
Summary: When Ginny says something she's not supposed to, interesting events surface. Mostly R/Hr. A little of everything, but mostly romance. Please, please r/r! chapter 4 is up.
1. Conversations, Mishaps and Secrets

Awakening 

Chapter One—Conversations, Mishaps and Secrets 

In which Fred thinks George is sexy (and vice versa); Ron's head gets much too big; Ginny says something she's not supposed to; and Hermione gets quite a shock and a warm hug and she can't sleep.

The Gryffindor common room was echoing with laughter and noisy chatter and even an occasional muffled _thud_, as if someone were hitting their head against something soft. 

Hermione Granger was clutching her stomach in uncontrollable laughter. "It's really quite sad I had to miss that." 

"Yeah, well," Harry Potter flashed her a roguish smile as he snickered. "You were doing your _prefect_ duties, you…you…you prefect," he finished lamely. 

"It's too bad you missed it, Hermione." Fred Weasley was still roaring with laughter, and George was still trying not to pee in his pants as he cackled loudly. 

"Yeah, it was most definitely the _best_ joke we've played on Ron yet!" George managed to snort out, wiping tears from his eyes. "I swear, when he popped that Lollipop Head lollipop in his mouth, it was all I could do not to laugh!" 

"I still can't believe Ron fell for that," Ginny Weasley shook her head in mock sadness, a large, goofy grin upon her lips. "After all the trick food you've given him!" 

"I _know_!" Fred, along with George, began to laugh all over again. "That's what makes this a masterpiece!" 

"Well," George cut in, his face suddenly serious, "besides the fact that his head got so _hugely_ swollen that it was literally touching the ground, his whole body bent like an old woman's so his neck wouldn't stretch…" 

"Yes, indeed." Fred nodded just as solemnly. "George, Angelina, Harry and I all had to carry him to the infirmary." 

"His head was so heavy I needed Ginny's help carrying it all the way there," Angelina cut in, giggling. 

Hermione shook her head helplessly as she continued laughing, imagining Ron's head swelling up so big it was too heavy to hold upright. But then a tiny voice—a voice she had recently dubbed as her Prefect Voice—spoke up. 

"You know, maybe I should tell McGonagall about this." 

Fred snorted. "Live a little, Hermione, and hush up." 

Harry shrugged carelessly, still smiling widely. "Besides, she's gonna find out anyway." 

"But, bloody hell!" George started laughing again, careful to stay in control of his bladder. "That was worth all the trouble we're getting into tomorrow!" 

"Damn straight!" Fred assented, before falling into supposed thought as he turned to Angelina. "You know, Angelina, I wonder if you'd still find me adorable if _my_ head got all swollen." 

Angelina shook her head in mock sorrow. "I'm afraid not, Fred." 

Fred feigned a hurt look as Harry, Ginny and Hermione all burst into loud laughter. 

George sighed deeply, got up off his chair, and squeezed himself between Angelina and Fred on the two-seater couch. He smiled sadly and patted his twin's back. "Don't feel bad, Fred. _I_ still think—" he threw Angelina an obviously faked angry look, "that you're one damn _sexy_ man. _Even_ with a swollen head." 

"Only _you_ would," Harry interjected, but he was pointedly ignored by the twins. 

Fred looked up at George, a large, overly joyous smile upon his features. "Well, golly gee wilikers, I think you'll always look great, too." At that, the twins burst into false tears and gave each other a hug. 

Ginny rolled her eyes, and George stood up and took his place back on the other chair. Angelina leaned over and gave Fred a brief kiss. 

"It's too bad that Andy couldn't be here," Hermione suddenly said quietly, dreamily. "He'd have such a huge laugh out of this." 

"Well, _you're_ the one that chose a Ravenclaw to be your boyfriend, Mione." Harry gave her a lamenting smile. "So it's nobody else's fault but yours, sadly." 

Hermione stuck out her tongue at him before turning to the rest. "So, how was Ron when you guys were dragging him to the infirmary? I imagine he was quite embarrassed." 

The common room burst into laughter again. 

"_Embarrassed_ isn't the word for it," Fred choked out, leaning upon Angelina for support. 

"It's more of he was absolutely, positively _humiliated_." George said happily. 

"Disgraced," Harry grinned. 

"Mortified," Angelina's grin was even bigger. 

"_God_, was he red!" George threw back his head and laughed uproariously. 

"Yeah," Ginny beamed, "he was even redder than when I caught him last summer doodling Hermione's name on a piece of paper—" 

Everyone fell quiet and threw Ginny warning looks, with the exception of Hermione, who seemed to lapse into shock. 

"Oops," Ginny put a hand over her mouth; flushed a bright crimson. "I don't think I should have said that." 

"Probably not," Harry shook his head, still looking over at Hermione in concern. "You okay?" 

"Wh-what did you say?" she whispered in a trembling voice, ignoring Harry's quiet inquiry; all the color had left her skin, leaving her looking pallid, sickened. 

"Nothing," Ginny hurriedly tried to take back what she had just said. 

"No, no…I heard you the first time," Hermione mumbled, her fingers spasmodically clenching and unclenching. "It's just that…_Ron_? Doodling? _My_ name? I—I don't get it all means." 

Fred sighed impatiently. "Of _course_ you get it, Hermione. Don't be a prat—you _know_ what all this means." 

Hermione shook her head in confusion. "But that _can't_ be, Ron has a girlfriend, and he—and he—oh, wow." She blinked in a futile attempt to clear her now wildly cluttered mind. 

George gave Ginny a look that plainly said: _You just wait until Ron hears about this. He's going to roast you over a nice, slow, open fire. _

Ginny gulped. 

Fred stood up and clapped his hands once. "Well, anyone with half a brain should leave Hermione to her thoughts, I think." He glanced at his little sister. "And you should too, Ginny." He added as an afterthought. 

Nodding in agreement and murmuring words of assent, they all got up and left, with the exception of Harry. He stayed by Hermione's side a moment longer, patting her back. 

"Get some sleep, all right?" he whispered in a tone that was pacifying, comforting. "I'm sure everything will make more sense tomorrow." 

Hermione nodded reluctantly and got up with him. "Y-yeah. You're right. G'night, Harry." 

Without another word, each one began to make their way up their own respective staircases. 

"Harry?" Hermione's voice was soft, almost inaudible. She hurried back to him, pulled him back before he could begin his ascent. 

Harry turned around to look at her. He thought she looked slightly different beneath the moon's pale beams—somewhat haunting, almost ethereal. 

"Yeah?" 

Hermione averted her intense gaze, and coughed self-consciously before speaking. 

"How long have you known about…um…Ron and…you know?" 

Harry scratched his head. "I dunno," he mumbled. "A year? Maybe?" 

Hermione's eyes widened in evident surprise; her mouth dropped open. "A _year_? A full year? You mean, all this time I was writing to Krum, and dating Andy, he—he's been—and you didn't—_oooooh_." 

"Mione," Harry gently squeezed her hand, "calm down, all right? We'll talk about this tomorrow, when you've gotten your bearings back…somewhat." 

"A year? That long? And I didn't…oh my God, all that time I was talking about Andy and he—and he has a _girlfriend_…" Hermione went on with her incessant, almost intelligible murmurs, wholly ignoring Harry's soothing mantra. 

"_Hermione_!" Harry cried, waving his hand in front of her. "Snap out of it!" 

Hermione's empty gaze cleared, focused. "Oh. Harry. I'm sorry. I'm just so…shocked." 

Harry grinned. "I could tell. Listen up, Mione. Get. Some. Sleep. Everything always seems much better in the morning. And then, maybe you can even talk to Ron about it." 

"Maybe," she said distractedly, but he could tell she wasn't quite considering talking to Ron just yet. "But, I guess sleep would be nice." 

"Now you're talking." Harry smiled and held out his arms. "Now hug it out." 

Hermione smiled back and stepped into his warm, brotherly grasp. 

But, as she did so, she wondered if she'd ever be able to let Ron hold her the same way again. 

She thought about that same question until she fell into an uneasy sleep in her bed two hours later. 

A/N: I didn't like that. I don't think I worked on it enough. I'm guessing you didn't like it either, but I'd still hope for you guys to r/r. Thank you! [gives breadsticks] Although I also hope I'll find it in myself to actually continue this, yeesh. 


	2. Consequence

Awakening

Chapter Two – Consequence 

In which Ron's head is back to its usual size and he's waking everyone up; Hermione is deeply disturbed; Ginny tries to stay out of trouble; and Harry's stuck in the middle—again. 

The skies slowly changed form deep indigo to pale gray, the moon gave way to the sun, and the stars left the heavens. Dawn. 

And the entire Gryffindor house slept. 

Well, _almost_ the entire Gryffindor house. 

"_Fred_! _George_!" the voice was furious, threatening, and loud. Extremely loud. Footsteps just as noisy were heard from the common room and up the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories. "Both of you wake up _right bloody now_!" 

Unfortunately, the Weasley twins seemed to have slept right through the whole racket. But Harry Potter, along with quite a few very irritated Gryffindors, was not able to. 

Harry got up, his mouth stretching into an involuntary yawn as he opened his eyes and groped around his bedside table for his glasses. 

"Ron?" he slid off the bed as soon as he had gotten the glasses on, a rather befuddled look upon his features as he spoke. He looked around the room drowsily and saw that nobody else was there before his mind very patiently informed him Ron's voice was coming from outside. 

Yawning again and trying not to breathe in his own surely wonderful-smelling breath, he trudged out of the door and into the long hallway of the boys' dormitories. Several people were outside and glaring irritably at Ron, who was a few doors up, rapping on his brothers' door. 

Harry scratched his head as he began mumbling excuse-me's and out-of-my-way's as he began to make his way towards his best friend, who was—amazingly— unaware of all the commotion he was causing all throughout the dorm. 

Ron was starting to shout quite a few graphic obscenities when Harry gingerly tapped him on his shoulder. 

"Harry," Ron's eyes widened as he turned to Harry—and saw perhaps half of the dorm outside, looking at him with avid curiosity. His ears reddened. "Er, have I woken everyone up?" 

Harry arched one amused eyebrow. "Oh no," he answered sarcastically, grinning, "just only about half. Or more." 

"Oops." Ron shrugged, smiled in what was supposed to be in an innocuous manner. "Well, it's their fault, they put me through bloody hell last night—the swelling wouldn't subside—hey. Are you laughing?" 

"What?" Harry mumbled, looking down as he almost choked on his own laughter. "N-no. 'Course not." 

"You're _laughing_!" 

"Okay, maybe a little—" 

"I can't believe you're laughing at me," Ron said in a hurt voice, crossing his arms. 

"Yeah," Harry snorted—he could tell Ron wasn't really all that offended, else he wouldn't even have dared to smile, "well, you looked pretty funny." 

"Did not," Ron muttered stubbornly as he and Harry began to walk down the halls, mumbling quiet apologies as they did so. 

"You didn't see yourself," Harry snickered loudly as they walked back into their room. "Oh, yeah. That was because your head was too heavy to even _lift_!" He cracked up, leaning upon his best friend's shoulder as he was overtaken by high-pitched snickers. 

Ron mumbled something that vaguely resembled "You try the lollipops one time, you big prat." 

After he was done laughing, Harry sighed cheerfully, happily wiped a tear from his eye, and pulled their door of their room open. Everyone else in the hallway followed suit. 

"I can't believe I managed to wake so many people up but I didn't wake up Fred, George, or any of their roommates," Ron said dejectedly as they closed the door behind them. 

Harry snorted. "You know them. Fred, George, and Lee can all sleep through an earthquake, and their two other roommates were probably tricked into some magical sleep, with their luck." 

"Yeah, you're probably right." 

"'Course I'm right," Harry said, yawning drowsily. Seamus, Neville, and Dean were all already back in bed, fast asleep. "Now get some sleep. We've probably got another hour of it left." 

Ron was shrugging off his shirt and replacing it with a large fuzzy one as he nodded. "Yeah," he yawned as he crept into his bed and pulled the curtains shut. 

Moments of silence passed before Harry's quiet voice shattered it. 

"Ron?" 

"Uh huh?" 

Harry cleared his throat. "Um, Mione might—er—act a little weird today. Just thought I should, uh, warn you. Or something." 

"Weird? Whaddaya mean? Ron's voice was muffled, as if his face were pressed into a pillow, or something of the sort. 

"Um, just, you know. Weird. Different." Harry answered uncomfortably, now mentally hitting himself for initiating such a strange conversation. 

"Why would you think so?" Ron's voice was no longer muffled, just openly inquisitive. 

"Uhh…" At a loss for a proper response, Harry now mentally threw himself over a cliff. "I don't know. She was just acting really, really…weird last night. Just thought you should know, that's all. Now just sleep," He added quickly, hoping to end the conversation as soon as possible. 

"Okay," Harry almost saw Ron nodding in his imagination, "thanks, Harry." 

Harry didn't answer anymore; he pretended to fall asleep, as a precaution against Ron inquiring about anything any further. 

Hermione still felt dizzy, if not completely sickened. She had barely slept the whole night, and even the thought of Andy was no comfort to her, which was something that had never happened before. It disturbed her, made her even more determined to make thoughts of Andy _would_ manage to chase away all thoughts of Ron. 

She irritably yanked the curtains of her bed, pointedly ignored everyone in the room, even Parvati Patil's "Hermione, why are you being so cranky today?" as she began to immerse herself in thoughts and memories of Andy Geller. 

_Andy Geller,_ she allowed the now-familiar name to wash over her mind like a comforting caress as she began to dress up. _Head Boy of Hogwarts. Well-liked by everyone. Handsome, responsible, intelligent and sweet. The kind of guy that used to only exist in my dreams._

As she washed her face, she began to remember the summer before their fifth year, when she had been on a cruise ship in America with her parents. 

She recalled feeling strange, out of place and alone in a place chock-full of Muggles. She called to mind the loneliness that had plagued her (Viktor Krum had just recently broken her heart then), and how she had spent almost half of their weeklong cruise in a well-concealed corner of the ship's library, rereading _Hogwarts: A History_. She remembered Andy Geller, how he had stumbled onto her, hidden and lonely-looking with a humongous book in her hands. How she had cried out in surprise and instinctively clamped the book shut, fearing that the supposed muggle standing before her would find out about what she was. 

Instead, the boy had smiled, and said: "_Hogwarts: A History_?" 

Hermione had stood up, and answered in the calmest, most dignified, possible voice she could have: "Yes, it's an old fiction book. Now if you'll excuse me, I—" 

He had breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile deepened. "I'm guessing you're not a muggle, then." 

Hermione had almost dropped the book. "_You're_ not a muggle?" 

"Dear God, I should hope not," he had responded wryly, "else I don't think I should be writing to a man named Dumbledore." He held out his hand. "Andy Geller. I don't believe we've met." 

"No," Hermione had told him. "I don't think so." And then she shook his hand. 

What had followed was four days of roaming around on a large ship, many weeks of enjoyable correspondence, and, after those many weeks, a breathtaking kiss that had initiated the start of Hermione's first real relationship. 

The fond memories, though, failed Hermione miserably. Thoughts of Ron doodling her name on paper as she swooned over Andy still plagued her, still deeply disturbed her, still persisted in haunting her. 

She trudged down into the Great Hall, where she immediately spotted Harry and Ron sitting together at their usual place. Ron's back was turned to her, and she caught Harry's nervous eye for a fleeting second before he bit his lip, beckoned for her to come to them. 

Ron's vehement gestures at his own now-normal-sized head halted, and he turned around in order to wave to Hermione, which he did, very enthusiastically. It was something Hermione did not fail to notice. 

It made her frustratingly nervous. She looked around for Andy, but to no avail. He didn't seem to be in the vast room at the moment. 

Forcing her lips into a wide smile and her legs into motion towards their direction, she waved back at Ron and Harry. 

"G'morning," said Harry as she sat down beside him, grinning at her. The smile seemed genuine enough, but Hermione caught his almost imperceptible glance at Ron from the corner of his eye. 

"Top of the morning to you, Harry" Hermione replied, soon after furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. That was the first time in years she had ever said 'top of the morning' to anyone—she found herself wondering if she really _was_ that nervous. 

"Hiya, Mione." Ron looked up, grinning widely, a piece of the scrambled egg he was eating hanging from his mouth as he spoke. He slurped it into his mouth. 

_See,_ she told herself, wrinkling her nose in distaste and allowing a small, amused smile to grow at the same time, _no manners at all. No need to think about even comparing him to Andy._

Ron lifted one crimson-toned eyebrow in confusion. "O-kay, Hermione. There's no need at all to answer if you don't feel up to the task," he said, perplexed. 

"Sorry," Hermione said quickly, sitting down and studiously avoiding Harry's curious, probing gaze. "Just went a little bit out of it, is all." She waited for about a second or so before food appeared upon her plate. She immediately wolfed it down, eager to get away from Ron as soon as possible. 

"Well," Ron said loftily, chewing on his pancake, "you're in a hurry today. Meeting Andy later, or something?" 

Hermione pretended not to hear him, and Ron gave Harry a brief look as if to say, _"You're right. She's acting mighty strange today."_

"So," Harry spoke quietly, breaking the painfully awkward silence between the three of them, "are you meeting with Kaeri today, Ron?" 

Before Ron could even answer, an odd, strangled sort of sound escaped Hermione's throat. She began to cough loudly, every single one of them having shorter intervals between the other. 

"Yeah, I am." Ron answered quickly, reaching across the table with one long arm to pat Hermione on the back. "You okay, Mione? You sound a little bit like you're choking there." 

Hermione instinctively shied away from the warm touch of his fingers upon her skin. "Yeah," she told him as she hurriedly got up. "Just fine. Listen, I think I see Andy across the room. I'll see you guys later, all right?" 

"Sure," Harry nodded, "are you sure you're okay now?" 

Hermione knew he meant more than just her brief spasm of nervous, choked coughs. But Ron didn't, so she simply gave him a fleeting smile and said yes. 

"See you later," said Ron. 

"Right," Hermione said before hurrying away, her movements strangely inept. 

Ron leaned across the table about a heartbeat later and whispered inconspicuously to Harry: "You're right. She's acting really, really weird." 

"I told you so." 

"D'ya have any idea why?" 

"None," Harry said quietly, before quickly shifting the topic back to Ron's current girlfriend. 

Hermione made sure that neither Harry nor Ron saw her slip out of the Great Hall—_without_ Andy, despite what she had told them. She felt rather guilty about lying to her two best friends, but she figured anything was better than the discomfiture she experienced whenever anywhere near Ron. 

A minor ache that quickly traveled from her fingertips up her forearm to her shoulder blade told her that she had hit someone; a pleasantly surprised "Mione!" told her it was someone she knew; and the throaty, euphonious voice accented by the familiar Scottish lilt told her that that someone was Andy Geller. 

"Sorry about that, Andy." Hermione gave him a weak grin as she bent down to help him pick up the books he had dropped. 

"Good morning to you too," Andy gave her a crooked smile, one that, in the past months, Hermione had grown to be deeply fond of. He leaned forward and brushed his lips across her cheek in a caressing kiss. 

"'Morning," Hermione replied distractedly, giving him a slight smile. 

"You look a little out of it today," Andy said after a few moments of silent scrutiny. "You okay?" 

An image of Ron just minutes ago flashed before her eyes, reaching across the table and patting her back as he uttered the same words. 

"Make that _really_ out of it," Andy said, his voice tinged with amused fondness as he grinned at her when she didn't answer. "What's up?" 

"Lack of sleep," Hermione lied smoothly. "Too much homework to do." 

"I can relate," Andy said wryly. "I hope you finish everything before the Christmas break starts." 

"I doubt it," Hermione answered, now feeling very guilty for being such a blatant liar to her own boyfriend. She checked her watch and feigned surprise. "Oops. It's almost time for my first class and I don't have any of my stuff yet. I'll see you later." 

"Right," said Andy, bending down for a customary short kiss, which Hermione obligingly gave. 

Hermione hurried off in the direction of the staircases leading to the Gryffindor common room. One leg was halfway through the portrait of the Fat Lady when a soft, trembling voice called her from behind. 

"H-Hermione?" 

She turned around in surprise. "Ginny," she said, giving the younger girl a brief, obviously forced smile. "Hi." 

"Good morning," Ginny replied. Hermione noticed she was playing very nervously with the sleeves of her robes. "Listen, I just want to apologize for—you know, getting you into this situation. Ron's probably about ready to kill me now, too." 

Hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Actually—Ron doesn't quite know yet." 

Ginny's eyebrows went so high up Hermione wondered for a passing moment if it was possible for one's eyebrows to go past his or her hairline. 

"You haven't talked to him about it yet?" 

Hermione shook her head and gave her a pleading look with wide eyes glimmering with evident anxiety. "No, and please don't tell him yet. I'm not ready to talk to him about it. Not now." 

Ginny nodded, a look of absolute understanding upon her younger features. "Right. I'm really sorry about this." 

"I guess it's fine," Hermione responded, "I just wish someone had told me sooner. Before I had a boyfriend." 

Ginny's eyes narrowed in a manner that was not even remotely accusatory, it bore more of a semblance to fervent curiosity. "What would you have done if someone did?" 

Hermione turned away from her friend as she felt her cheeks burn with the beginnings of a very hot blush. "I don't know," she said despondently, confusedly. "But it would have made everything considerably easier." 

"You know," a voice interjected, "It would be also _considerably easier_ for me if you closed me, already." 

Both Hermione and Ginny's gazes flew to the other side of the portrait of the Fat Lady. 

"Sorry," they both apologized, before they stepped inside and shut it behind them. 

"No harm done," they heard the Fat Lady reply. 

Ron laughed softly to himself as he realized he was _still_ touching his head to make sure it hadn't swollen up any. 

_It's been almost a week since that trick they pulled,_ he assured himself as he got ready for bed. _Your head won't get any bigger than it already is._

He eagerly leapt into bed, his body still aching rather badly from the Quidditch practice earlier that day, and slid the heavy curtains shut. 

"Ouch," he muttered into the still, hushed darkness (everyone was still downstairs eating) as something hard dug into his spine. He got up, groped blindly in the shadows of his bed to find out what it was. When he found it, he poked it out of the curtains and held the object up in the bright moonlight in order to see it. 

It was a tiny figurine, of the Chudley Canons keeper. The figurine was snoring loudly on his broom. Ron remembered Hermione giving it to him as a gift when he had been appointed the new Gryffindor Keeper in Oliver Wood's place. 

He grinned slightly and put it down on the carpeted floor and lay back down, readily prepared to get some sleep. 

But it was too late, thoughts of Hermione filtered into his brain. 

And so for the next few minutes, he lay awake in the silent darkness, thinking about the same question he had been thinking of since the morning after the lollipop incident. 

_Why the bloody hell has she been avoiding me?_

In order to satiate the irritating, incessant wondering of the little voice in his brain, he began to go through all the relatively plausible answers. 

_It's not because I've been a prat to her—I hope so, at least—anyway, she'd tell me if ever I was. Huh. And she doesn't seem mad. Just…freaked out. _

Can't be because I'm spending too much time with Kaeri again; I mean, I've barely even seen the girl throughout out the week.

The second musing led Ron to rehashing when he had started going out with Kaeri Aston a few months ago. Hermione had gone a little insane, demanding when and where he had met her ("In the Great Hall during the start-of-the-year party,"), and who she was ("She's a fourth year from Ravenclaw, like Andy. She's not a mass murderer, Mione. What's the big deal anyway?"), and why he was going out with a girl he hadn't known for very long ("Because I _like_ her, obviously."). 

The incident had blown itself over, and it wasn't long before Hermione had to grudgingly admit that Kaeri seemed nice enough. 

Ron sighed loudly, the sound of it echoing oddly in the empty room. The previous memory led him to recalling how he had reacted when _he_ had found out about Andy ("What the bloody hell, Hermione…the _Head Boy_? That's like dating Percy!"), which led to wondering if it was because of Andy that Hermione was being so strange. 

_Oh well,_ he thought, rolling over on his side and closing his eyes, _I guess I'll just have to force it out of her tomorrow. _

A/N: Long, useless chapter. I basically made this to provide some background info to support the prologue, whee! Sorry if it was boring, I promise the next chapter gets funnier and more interesting. Please r/r! :D Thanks a lot!


	3. Of Fleeting Gazes and Hidden Smiles

Awakening 

Chapter Three—Of Fleeting Gazes and Hidden Smiles 

In which Hermione and Harry are up till dawn; Fred has another lollipop; Ron gets ready to talk to Hermione; George is out somewhere with Kate; and Fred gets kicked too many times. 

Hermione's eyes, which were exceptionally wide and alert for such time, remained fixed on the dying embers of the fire in the Gryffindor common room; her breathing was all that could be heard in the room; her right leg bounced spasmodically as she lost herself in thought. Thoughts of Ron, of Andy, of secrets, and of the things she did not yet know. 

"You're still up?" 

Hermione's gaze finally tore from the fireplace as she turned around to look at the source of the inquiry. 

"Hi Harry," she said tiredly, giving her friend a brief, flickering smile. She didn't answer his question, though—she didn't really feel like talking about the recent events. "What are you doing up?" 

Harry shrugged and sat down beside her, regarding his best friend with jade-colored eyes glimmering from behind his glasses. "Call me weird, but I was thinking about you. And Ron." 

Hermione glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, feigning detached disinterest. Harry hid a smile; Hermione had always been very bad at hiding emotions. He could easily sense her intense curiosity. 

"I don't know why, though," Harry went on, following Hermione's gaze and looking into the weak fire. "Honestly, it wasn't something I expected to lose sleep about. I mean, I've known about Ron and—er, you for quite some time, now."

"Since when have you known, exactly?" 

"I first noticed it in the Yule Ball last year. When you guys fought," Harry answered after a moment's thought. "I don't know, both of you guys just seemed so..._resentful_ towards each other's dates." 

"I wasn't resentful of Fleur because she was Ron's date," Hermione protested indignantly, tucking her bushy hair back behind on ear—a habit she unconsciously did whenever she was nervous in the slightest bit. "I didn't like her because she was such an arrogant, tactless, superfi—" 

"Right, right," Harry interjected hastily, unwilling to listen to Hermione's oft-repeated descriptions of Fleur. "But what about Ron? I mean, he was _mad_ over Krum until he started to like you. Didn't make much sense to me. But then certain—things happened and I didn't think of it again." 

"So Ron's never actually _told_ anyone that he…you know," Hermione mused. "Everything's just assumed…maybe everyone's just jumping to conclusions. Maybe we're all wrong and Ron actually—" 

"Mione," Harry interrupted quietly, shaking his head. Hermione immediately faltered as soon as she saw him doing so. 

"…or not," she finished sullenly. Dreams of everything going back to normal quickly dissipated. 

Harry gave her a small, encouraging smile. "Yeah, or not." He agreed softly. "I didn't think of it again until Ron told me. In the start of the year…before he got close to Kaeri but after you and Andy got together." 

"How? When?" Hermione asked, unable to satiate or tame her thirst for information—or anything that could possibly sort out the mess she had mired herself in. 

Harry paused again, tilting his head back in careful thought as he tried to call to mind days long past. 

"Do you remember the day when we were all sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast, and Andy, along with the rest of the Ravenclaws, were all seated near us?" 

Hermione paused as well, and attempted to remember. Seconds later, she nodded slowly. "I'm quite sure I do. If I remember right, Ron was acting rather irritable for no reason that day. What about it?" 

Harry gave her another grin. "Yeah, well, _you_ thought there wasn't a reason." 

"What?" 

Harry sighed. "After that breakfast, you and Andy wandered off somewhere together?" 

Hermione nodded, and Harry noticed her fingers touch her own lips for a brief second. 

"Ron and I were left alone," Harry said. "And so I asked him why he was acting so annoyed. He gave me this strange look, before making sure no one was near enough to hear us. Then, he told me why." 

Hermione's breath was bated and her fingers clenched in apparent anticipation. "What was it?" 

Harry gave her a long, undecipherable look. "I remember his words pretty well when I asked him. He said, 'Because everytime I looked at Hermione, she was looking at somebody else.'" 

Hermione felt her head begin to throb; her heart seemed to cease beating for a second; her throat tightened. She tried to open her mouth, but the confused flurry of thoughts that besieged her did not allow her to. All that came out resembled a soft squeak. Her grip around the armrest was so tight Harry could see her knuckles pale. 

"That pretty much confirmed it all for me," he went on as he inched closer to Hermione and gave her a brief hug. When he pulled back, he looked at her carefully. A painfully lost, utterly despaired look cloaked her dark eyes. The expression upon them seemed to magnify her pallor. 

"Mione," Harry said quietly, hesitantly as he cast a fleeting glance at the sun slowly begin to tinge the horizon a pale gold. "What are you going to do?" 

Hermione drew in a deep, sharp breath. She dropped her head into trembling hands. "I don't know, Harry." She answered despondently. Harry detected a strange tightness in her voice as she spoke; he suspected she was bravely holding back tears. 

"I just don't know." 

Harry put one arm around her shoulders, and with soft, pacifying whispers, watched the sun rise outside. 

"No, Fred, I do _not_ want a lollipop," Ron answered irritably, inclining his head further away from the lollipop his brother was offering. 

"It's not like the one we gave you last time," Fred promised, his lips pulling into a practiced pout; his eyes began to glimmer in what was supposed to resemble harmless innocence. Ron rolled his eyes; he couldn't count the number of times Fred had rehearsed that expression until he had it down to an art. 

"Of course it's not," Ron answered distractedly, his gaze suddenly averting and sweeping towards the doors of the Great Hall. 

Fred turned around and followed his younger brother's gaze, and smiled. Hermione and Harry had just walked in. 

"You know, if you really want to talk to Hermione that badly, just go ahead." He said in a tone that vaguely resembled elder-brotherly wisdom. 

Angelina, who sat beside him, kept quiet. A smile played upon her lips. 

"She's been avoiding me lately, is all," Ron mumbled, returning his gaze to Fred. "I just don't know why." 

Fred felt a swift, gentle kick on his shin. He glanced at Angelina, who had suddenly started to cough rather awkwardly. 

Ron sighed, and shook his head. His mind was much too swamped with confusion to notice Angelina's unusual reaction. "I mean, I don't think I've done anything stupid lately," he went on. "Have I?" 

"Not lately," Fred answered. "I mean you—g'morning Harry, Hermione." 

Harry grinned and greeted everyone at the table before he sat down. Hermione followed suit, though she didn't look at Ron as she talked to him. 

Fred held back a wince as another kick, one that surely came from Ron, was sent at his shin. 

"Told you so," Ron mouthed when no one was looking. 

Fred shrugged. He then proceeded in noticing that the table had fallen into heavy, uncomfortable silence. He all of a sudden wished George were with them instead of out somewhere with Katie Bell (what were they doing gone so long anyway?). He flinched as someone kicked his shin again. This time, it was Hermione. He turned to her, and saw the younger girl looking at him with pleading eyes. 

"Say something," she mouthed when no one else was looking. 

Fred shrugged. He then proceeded in holding out the lollipop again. 

"Anyone want a lollipop?" 

Both Harry and Hermione began to laugh, and Fred felt Ron kick his shin again. Fred wasn't sure what his younger brother intended to attain by permanently injuring his leg, but it wasn't something he would stand for. 

_Violent prat,_ Fred thought in satirical disdain, kicking Ron's shin as well. 

_Note to self,_ he conjured up a sugar quill and a piece of paper in his mind, resisting the urge to reach down and rub his aching leg. _If you ever want to walk again, never sit with any of these people._

Angelina discreetly reached over to him and held his hand. She gave him a grateful, clandestine smile for finally starting up the conversation. 

_Well, maybe you can still sit with Angelina._ He hastily added on his imaginary note as an afterthought. 

"I _told_ you!" Ron whispered stubbornly, his strident voice echoing rather loudly around the empty hall he and Harry walked. "She's _avoiding_ me!" 

Harry sighed inwardly and adjusted his glasses. Ron was walking so fast that in Harry's attempts to keep up with him, his glasses incessantly slipped down his nose. "I know, she's been acting bloody strange." He agreed, carefully choosing his words and studiously gliding over the fact that Hermione was only strange around Ron. 

Ron, however, did not miss this. "She's only strange when she's near _me_." His pace quickened further. "What do you reckon I should do?" 

Harry contemplated this for a moment. "Maybe you should just give her some time to mull over—er, whatever she's mulling about." 

"_Or_," Ron interrupted excitedly, his eyes positively glowing with excitement over the thought of fixing everything with Hermione, "I could talk to her tonight! I could ask her what's wrong and try to fix it!" 

Harry could almost imagine Hermione's abject terror when Ron would confront her and ask her what was the matter. 

It wasn't a pleasant vision. 

By the time he opened his mouth to discourage his best friend from the idea, it was much too late. 

"I'll talk to her tonight, dinnertime." Ron continued. "Thanks for the plan, Harry. When I fix things with Mione, I'll make sure to tell her it was all your idea." 

"_What_?" 

Harry now imagined Hermione, bright crimson, frantic and tempestuous, turning on him. 

A vision even less pleasant than the last. 

"What, you expected me to take all the credit?" Ron grinned and shook his head. "You know I'm not like that, Harry…oh, look. We're late for Divination. Oh well. I'm sure Trelawney foresaw this." He broke into a run. 

_I'm sure she also foresees utter chaos,_ Harry thought sadly, shaking his head dejectedly and hurrying up after Ron. 

Author's Note: Another spamtastic chapter. It took me so long to put up because, firstly, I'm lazy. But I finished this chapter a good 2 weeks ago, ff.net just wouldn't let me post it. [grumbles] Anyway, please review! Thanks. 


	4. In Silence

Awakening 

Chapter 4 – In Silence 

In which Hermione and Ron decide to talk (Ron decides to, anyway); Harry and Ginny commiserate; Ron finally runs out of things to say; and Kaeri gets irritated. 

"Ron," Harry ventured tentatively as he poked his fork at his beef (which seemed quite…alive), "are you sure you want to go through this? I mean, maybe Mione isn't ready to talk yet. She might not…handle things too well." 

Ron sighed impatiently through a mouthful of pasta. "You don't 'ndershtand, 'Arry," he gestured quite animatedly with his own fork, unaware of the droplets of sauce that flew from it. "I can't 'ait any longer than I 'lready have. I can't shtand _not thalking to 'Ermione, not when I don't even know whass wrong with 'er. Beshides—__you're getting 'ffected by this too. She's not even eatin' with us." _

"Right," Harry nodded slowly, still sullenly poking at his food. "You're right—you have to talk to Hermione."

_It's useless arguing with him, Harry told himself, __he's dead set on talking to Mione. Why try to stop him? Besides, he'll have to find out sometime__. _

"Harry," someone gently tapped him on his shoulder. "Could I talk to you for a second?" 

Both Harry and Ron turned around to see who had spoken. 

"Oh, hi Ginny," Ron gave his younger sister a brief smile before turning back to his food. 

"Sure…what do you need to talk to me about?" Harry prepared to get up. 

Ginny gestured at Ron's hunched back. She mouthed, _You know, and pressed her finger to her lips. _

"Oh," Harry nodded, his green eyes darting over to Ron (who was concentrating far too much on his food) nervously. "That's _right. You have to talk to me about that…__thing…for, er, __school." _

"Yup," Ginny nodded, rolling her eyes at Harry's pitiful attempt at a lie. 

"You go on ahead," Ron said abstractedly. His eyes swept past them before landing upon Hermione, who was sitting beside Andy Geller and was looking rather distracted. 

"Right," Harry got up, and was immediately ushered out by a very wide-eyed Ginny. 

Kaeri Aston slid into Harry's seat almost immediately, ignoring the brief, mildly unwelcome glances she got from some Gryffindors. 

"Hi Ron," she grinned, with a small wave. 

"Hullo," Ron said, with a smile that told her quite clearly he wasn't listening too much (if at all). 

Kaeri sat in silence for a moment, before waving her hand in front of Ron's eyes. "What's up with you?" 

"Hmm?" Ron blinked. "Oh, nothing." 

Kaeri sighed very patiently. "You've been like this _all week. Tell me what's wrong." _

Ron shrugged. "Really, Kaeri, there's nothing wrong with me." 

"Riiiiiight," Kaeri said sarcastically. "So, how've you been?" 

"Good, you?" Ron still sounded very distracted. His azure eyes were unfocused and hazy. 

"Oh, I'm good," Kaeri narrowed her eyes in careful scrutiny. "Though, I almost failed my Arithmancy exam; Math just isn't my best subject, I guess." 

"I'm sorry, what?" 

_Grr. "I almost peed on our currency, to save all those festive pigs, I guess." _

"Oh," Ron nodded. "That's all right." He reached over and patted her back. 

"You _really just aren't listening, are you?" Kaeri stood up, very irritably. "I'll talk to you when you're up for talking, Ron." At that, she flounced off. _

Ron watched her walk off. "There's another problem I have to fix," he mumbled, ignoring the stares he was getting from those beside him. _But right now, I'll deal with Mione. _

"Okay, Ginny," Harry called after her, "you can stop now—I'm sure neither Ron nor Mione can hear us." 

"Yeah," Ginny sat down on the steps outside the Great Hall. "You're right." 

Harry sat down beside her. "Well, what's up?" 

Ginny glared at him. "You _know what's up," she said. "Ron and Mione. Like you said. Harry, Mione's utterly ready to avoid Ron for the rest of the year." _

Harry sighed. "Well, Ron's going to _force her into talking to him in about…" he glanced at his watch. "A couple of minutes." _

"_What?" Ginny moaned, shaking her head. "Oh, no. That means Mione is going to tell him that I told her about his crush – ex-crush. Ron's going to kill me!" _

"You're lucky," said Harry, quite sullenly. "When Ron tells Hermione that it was my idea to talk to her—which it wasn't—she's probably going to turn me into a sloth." 

Hermione hurried into the common room, pushing the portrait of the Fat Lady shut behind her. 

She had watched surreptitiously as Kaeri, looking very annoyed, had left Ron alone at the Gryffindor table. She then watched Ron as he got up and began walking towards the Ravenclaw table, where she sat. Terrified, she had mumbled a lame excuse to Andy and then quickly scurried off. 

With a sigh, she walked over to the couch situated at the center of the room and sank down there. 

"Fundilingers." 

"That's right, my dear." 

Hermione looked up. 

"God, no," she muttered underneath her breath as she saw Ron poke his head in with a timid grin.

"Hullo," said Ron, stepping in. "Any room for me in there?" 

"Yes," answered Hermione, very tiredly. "Lots of room." 

Ron grinned again, and plopped down beside her on the couch. "So…" 

"So…" Hermione echoed, scratching her head, feeling very awkward. 

Ron cleared his throat, then shifted position so that he could be facing her. "Okay, Mione," he said, with a grin. "Spill it. What have I done or _not done to make you so annoyed at me…or us?" _

"Us?" 

"Me and Harry," he explained, still smiling. "C'mon. What's up?" 

Hermione got up abruptly, surprising Ron. 

"Really, I—" she coughed, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "I really don't…uh. I really don't want to talk about it right now." She forced out a grin, bracing one hand on her hip as she shifted her weight around again. "So, okay. I'lltalktoyoulaterRonbye!" 

She turned around, and began to hurry towards the staircase leading to the girl's dormitory. 

"Wait a second," Ron got up and struggled to catch up. "Wait, Hermione. Come on, wait—" 

With a loud _oof, he stumbled over the thick carpet and fell over, arms flailing, eyes wide. _

Hermione whirled around again as she heard the dull thud Ron made as he made contact with the wooden floor. 

Ron had already gotten up. "I'm okay," he said hastily, crossing his arms before his chest. "I'm fine. Yes. I am." 

"Are you sure?" Hermione bit her lip to try and hold back her giggles. 

"Yeah," Ron studiously ignored his aching nose (which, incidentally, had been squashed flat when he fell) and his injured pride. "So, come on. Talk to me." 

"No," insisted Hermione, quite stubbornly. 

"You _know I'm not going to leave you alone," Ron went on. "I'm going to get it out of you _some_time, so might as well tell me now." _

"You really want to know?" asked Hermione, narrowing her eyes. 

Ron nodded decisively, without even a moment's hesitation. "I _really want to know." _

Hermione sat down on the first step. "Are you sure? Absolutely, positively sure?" 

"Yes," Ron insisted, nodding. "After all, I'm sure it's nothing _that bad. It can't hurt for me to know." _

"I'm serious, Ron. You don't want to know." 

"You can't tell me what I want and don't want to know," said Ron, stubbornly. 

Hermione took a deep, shuddering breath, her fingers knotting nervously in her robes as she did so. 

"Okay," she began slowly. "You asked for it. Do you remember when you ate that Lollipop Head Lollipop and you were sent to the clinic?" 

"Do I ever," Ron answered wryly, "my head still feels a bit bloated." 

Hermione's lips quirked into a small smile, but it dissolved quickly. "Yeah…well, we were left alone: Harry Ginny, the twins, and myself. And…uh…we got to talking, and—" she faltered. She seemed to briefly contemplate something before going on. "And someone told me that you…you know. That you—well, yes." 

"That I what?" Ron prompted. His smile had waned slightly, for fear that the _smallest chance that Hermione was going to say what he thought she could possibly say might come true. _

Hermione cleared her throat, and said in a very soft voice: 

"That you used to like me." 

_She said it, a voice that Ron had assumed was his conscience, mumbled. _

Ron stood still, his eyes wide and unblinking. 

Hermione stared up at him imploringly, waiting for him to speak. 

He didn't. 

_Okay, Ron, the voice went on, extremely patiently, __we both know you never expected her to know, but it isn't that__ big of a surprise. _

Ron continued to look at Hermione, dumbfounded. He could feel his ears turning red. 

_Say something! _

He opened his mouth, and nothing came out. He had no idea what to tell her.

_You're probably as red as a damn tomato now, the voice told him, __and there's nothing you can say that can possibly make this any more humiliating. _

"Uh…" 

_Just get it out! Nothing__ you can say would be worse than shutting up and staring at her. _

"Ron?" Hermione forced out an encouraging smile. "Say something." 

_Say something! Even she says so! _

"Well," Ron, clapped his hands together, and said the first thing that came to his mind. "Don't _I resemble a tomato now—er. I mean, yes. You were right. I don't think I wanted to hear that." _

Hermione arched one eyebrow. 

A/N: Ah, and after months of hiatus and cold weather, I'm back home with a new chapter I should have posted long ago. A _big_ thanks goes out to Circinius, who beta-read this for me. I owe you! :D Please tell me what you think! 


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